Rudy

Your car weighs around 25-2900 lbs. Prob around 2700. Light nonetheless! Hp for the 3.8L in 1983 is 105-120 hp, but you say yours is modified. JEFF- I have the same worries you do about this. I hope they dont shut down the performance division. This is why I am glad Ford has been able to avoid govenrment help thus far. I fear they want to kill every cool V8-rear drive car and truck and turn us into europe, with a bunch of little 1200lb 3 cylinder smart-car like econoboxes. I hope not. Rudy

Dave is totally correct. The Physical "size" of the engine, is actually bigger than a SOHC 427 big block. But all that size is in the heads. Each head has 2 cams, and 4 valves per cylinder, totalling 4 cams, 32 valves. The actual displacement, is only 281 cubic inches. IMO it is one of the top 5 (maybe top 6 or 7) engines to ever come out of ford. The key to being able to make all that power, is from the factory forged steel crank, and factory forged Manley H-beam rods, and that the heads breathe over 320 cfm of air, bone stock. Ya gotta have the bottom end to handle it. Seeing as she is built well from the factory, you can just stuff it full of boost, without having to beef anything up, to a point. I have never removed a valve cover, and the only mods to the engine are the bigger blower, long tube headers, and a tune. She will live at 1,000 hp, but that is pretty much the limit of the bone stock stuff. But I would have to say that is pretty good for stock stuff! THe LS7, ls1, and LSX swaps are super popular right now also. Chevy hit a home run with that one. I know about 5 guys right now running the same car as mine at the track, with LS motors in them. They are all in the 9's on motor, 8's on spray. ###### "crossdressers".......... But I like anyhting that runs well, and it works, so why not!!! Although I am a ford blue bleeding purist and would rather not see a chevy motor in a ford, but they do that to us all the time with hot rods! I wouldnt do it, but it seems to work well even on a fairly low budget. I just love cars in general............ What is the story with the car on jackstands next to the vette? I cant remember what it was now, I looked at it a couple days ago. Was it a Z? I forget, I will have to go look now..... I will say, that being young not too long ago, (only 28 now) you should only try to work on one project at a time, and you MUST have something else to drive while you work on your project car. Come up with a plan, and STICK WITH IT. Changine you plan and eventual goal for the car will only end up costing more money in the end, and possibly not getting one car done, let alone 2. DOesnt mean you cant hold onto a car and keep it around until you are financially ready tho! Rudy

Ahhh nice to see the chevy boys cry. I love this project. I have seen and worked on twin turbo 427's, so they do exist. I am sick and tired of seeing chevy LS1 powered mustangs lately, although they do run pretty ###### good at the strip. I like anything that runs good tho. I will admit tho that if I see 1 more Small block chevy powered model A or 32 ford oradster, I will vomit profusely............... You may want to check out David Frieburger's 1:1 project F-bomb turbo camaro for ideas...... It is awesome. You will find pics of it at www.Hotrod.com Keep up the good work. What did you use to make the turbos? Wire, solder? Rudy

I was so excited to hear they came out with B5 blue again!!!!! Awesome car. SOOOOOOOOOOOO much better looking than the camaro. IMO the only thing a new challnger could use a a slight (maybe 1.5-2") lowering job. They look slightly 4x4ish to me...... Rudy

My DD is a turd. My Toy is below. It is an 87 Mustang LX Notchback, I completely built the whole car over the last 5 years. See the pic at the very bottom to see what I started with. I have posted pics of it before, but I just got done with a whole bunch of new modifications. It has 4.6L 4 valve, out of an 03-04 Cobra. This is a pretty rare swap, I onlyt knew of 3 other ones in the country when I started building it. I run a C-4 trans, built by Joel's On Joy, here in Detroit. (Detoilet) THe latest round of upgrades are as follows: New Whipple 3.4L twin screw supercharger (replaced factory 03-04 cobra eaton) Ford Racing 80 Lb injectors (replaced factory 39 lb'rs) Accufab 160mm Monoblade throttlebody (replaced factory twin 52mm T/B) Custom Pro-M mass air, calibrated to flow-matched injectors Reflashed the Continental Stall convertor, done by Lenny at Ultimate Convertor Concepts Custom fabbed Air-aintake piping New Afco Dual-pass heat exchanger New Strange Engineering front coilovers New bumpsteer kit Removed and relocated rack mounts to correct steering geometry Afco Rear Coilovers Team-Z Anti Roll-bar Cut apart and refabricated BBK longtube headers to properly clear steering shaft (finally!) Aerospace rear disc brakes New Strange Pro-Race axles to replace the last set I somehow bent More I am forgetting On the Dynojet Chassis Dyno, she made 768 Rear-wheel horsepower, 737 Ft/Lb of torque. 940hp at the crank. THis was on a fairly mild street tune, at 26.5lbs of boost. THe old heat exchanger was in place at the time of dyno'ing, and it was too small and bent up from an accident (new brakelines I actually farmed out, they did not tighten one fitting, finger loose, POW!) so the Intake Air temperature went from 0-170 degrees in 9 seconds, which is BAD BAD BAD. It was way too hot, and we didnt want to push our luck without replacing the Heat exchanger with the new afco dual pass unit. We never re-dyno'd the car after replacing it, but I know on some C-16 race gas there is 1,000 hp at the crank, and over 800 rwhp at the wheels. She should go 9.0's to high 8's in the 1/4 this year, at over 150mph. Guess its time for a parachute. But this is a street car, I drive it every chance I get in the summer!!! NEVER GIVE UP........................ Rudy

I just got finished butting a new bigger blower on my Fox mustang. The new whipple 3.4L. Also some new Ford Racing 80 Lb injectors, a Pro-M mass air calibrated to the new injectors, 160 mm monoblade t/b. At 26.5 lbs of boost she made 768 Rear wheel horsepower, 737 ft/lbs off rear wheel torque. That comest around 940hp at the crank. I had a heat exchanger that was too small and dmaged, so we couldnt push it to hard on the dyno. The intake air temp went from 0-170 degrees in 9 seconds. And with the incoming air that hot, you wont make any more power, just less, the computer will pull timing, etc. I know with some good C-16 race gas in her she has 1000+hp at the crank, and over 800 rwhp. I will be needing a new parachute at the track this year, she should go 9.0's to high 8's in the 1/4........ Oh yeah, this is a STREET CAR!! I have literally seen a chassis dyno make people cry...... "oh it makes 500+hp"......... dyno spits out 256 LOL....... You lose around 20 percent of the horespower made at the engine, on its way to the wheels thru the drivetrain. Transmission, etc. But in the end, I always have to tell people, we race CARS not Dynos! 1,000hp is the new 500. Everybody has to make 1,000 hp. I see cars with 1,000 hp all the time, but if you cant put it to the ground with the correct suspension, tires, etc, it is all useless. Rudy NEVER GIVE UP...........................

Looks like you sheared some teeth off of the pinion gear. How, I dont know, but ya did it! Adding the taller gears will make it leave quicker out of the hole, but it will not affect the HP in any way, so it wont make a difference on the dyno, but it WILL make a decent difference in the seat of the pants dyno LOL...... 2.82 is a highway gear. It will be a turd out of the hole, but will only spin like 2,000 rpms on the highway and get great gas mileage. If you want quicker acelleration, get some 3.55's, or maybe a 3.73. Anything bigger any your highway gas mileage will suffer greatly. It is always a trade-off. It depends how and where you drive your car the most. Rudy

wesome build. Love the gow jobs. Rudy

Awesome kitbash.......... Looks great. Rudy

I like it! What are you using for weathering? That is something I would like to learn. I recently added my first set of igniton wires and I can honestly say it makes a ton of difference! Keep up the good work. Rudy

Welcome SIR! Bring on the hot rods! Rudy

I love that color! Looks like an acrylic color I just bought to paint the newest release Revell 49' merc....... Car looks awesome. I plan to build a "Bulitt" tribute car shortly, but I will just find an older kit, as the latest one is $26-28. Probably have to pay Steve Mcqueen's family for having his pic on the box...... Rudy

I wasnt too sure about it when I first saw the caddy rear for a bed, as it was too wide and the line in the middle looked wierd. Now that you have narrowed it and shortened it, I love it!!! Dare to be different, that is what it is all about, 1:1 and otherwise....... I dig the straight 6, keep up the good work. Rudy

Love the color. Who makes the kit? What is the wierd body line on bedside, in front of the wheelwell, looks like a door that opens up like a garage door, is this a camper-special kit? Rudy

Thank You sir! I just talked to my buddy in the USMC yesterday, he said he may be leaving feb 25th to an undisclosed location, but he said he may not get to go because they are sending the reservist's first, and he is full active. Stay safe, watch your 6', and send them bastards on the superhighway to the 72 virgins dating service. OOHRAH!!!!! Semper Fidelis brother! Rudy Ranger, 3/75 01-03

WOW!!! That is amazing, I bet not too many guys attempt tat style of paintjob in scale!!!! Looks 1:1!!! Keep up the good work, Rudy

I'm not much into the nascar's or road-race cars, but those two are cool!!! Very different, and different is good! Rudy

WOW. Just awesome. One of my all-time favorite movies since I was a kid in the 80's. Just a suggestion for the seats, maybe make some of the material go horizontally across the seats or in different direstions, add some duct tape, and possibly a spring or piece if metal sticking out of the seat. Just an Idea. I have yet to try the BMF route, but want to get some and try it. It really is a must for accurate models. Also, where did you get that cool stand for painting bodies? I want one! You have given me the bug, off to evilbay to find this model...... Rudy

In my opinion, Barret Jackson is partially responsible for ruining the hobby for the REAL grass-roots guys like me, who build their own cars. Those bastards have helped inflate prices of even obscure undesireable car through the roof. Especially the mopars. Now every moron with a rusted-out 4 door 74 dart swinger wants 15K for it....... You cant even find good iron to satart with for a project anymore. I know it is everywhere out west, but what you pay $1200 for out west, we pay $7000 for here in michigan.......... These guys buy the $3 million dollar cudas just so they can tell their wine-and-cheese buddies they own the 1 of 1 $ 3 million dollar car, and neve even drive or share them with others...... Rudy EDIT: Nice road runner. My buddy's dad has a 71 with a 440/727/8.75......... Red/white stripe/white interior

+1 the paint came out awesome on the jeep. Testor's 1-coat metallic lacquer I am guessing? That power Wagon tow truck is kick a$$. I can see it O.D. Green with a military jeep being toweed behind it. Anytbody know where to get a model of any power wagons? My grandpa had a 58 power wagon town wagon, (just like a chevy suburban) would be neat to find one of those an build it like his. My dad says it was a command-car used in the military. Was brush and roller painted national blue with bright red wheels and a giant winch on the front! Sorry to hijack, your builds keep me motivated and make me want to chop-cut-rebuild, box-stock is just not gonna cut it after reading your posts!! Rudy

Awesome! I was worried when you said you were adding a "racecar style spoiler", but it came out great!!! Great scartchbuilding! Rudy

Wow. The quality of your work is second to none. Excellent paintjob. Everythng is flawless. The vinyl top looks excellent. As far as a similated (sp) vinyl top, i think automotive undercoating would also work well if it isnt too "hot" Rudy EDIT: Also, where did you get that cool stand for holding bodies while you paint? I want one!

I dig it. I have one of these kits already built, and a new one waiting to be built. If I remember correctly, I had hood fit issues also........ Cant wait to see how she turns out! Rudy

Ed, the kit is the 26 T sedan, it has a brown sedan panel on the box that says "LIL John's" hot rod parts or something like that..... I wonder if this is a kit version of the 1:1 Lil John Buttera T sedan? Looks like it is. About the chop, I didnt have a saw or a dremel at the time, so I chopped it with a pair of dikes and filed it down! LOL..... I left the chop kind of raw, as I may give a leaded look to it on top of the paint if It gets painted O.D. green. Jody- I have no idea where the surfboards came from, they were in the parts box I bought for $5. I have 2 of them. I can send one to you to cast if you like. Who is the company that makes the stromberg 97's? Model car garage? Thank You for the compliments Rudy

Here are just a couple pics of my 57 chevy stepside parts hauler I am finishing up. Box stock, I hate the wheels however. Kit went together O.K., but the battery had to be cut down significantly to fit on the tray and have the hood close. I may still need to lower the radiator, because now I believe the hood it hitting it in the front. I shortened the front frame horns to get the bumper mounted more flush to the body. This was my first-ever attempt at sanding and polishing a paintjob, and i chose a bad vehicle to start with due to the small crevices and such of the stepside bed. I had to repaint the hood and the edges do not match. It was testors spray can paint. I got a new airbrush for Xmas (never had or used one yet) and I am dying to give it a try. I still have a few trim pieces to attach, and I need to paint the bottom side of the interior black as it can be seen thru the frame when the truck is flipped over. I may still wire the engine yet. I would also like to add that the windows in the kit DO NOT FIT. The front and rear windows were too small and fell thru the openings and therefore got glue-goobered and now look like ######. I would like to know what to use to make your own windows and how to do it, although these would have been very difficult due to the compound curves. I am making this a parts hauler, and am going to get started on the Testor's trailer tommorrow to tow behind it. I may end up weathering the paint as I am not happy with how it turned out. Now all I have to do is build a nast blown willys to tow behind it!!! Enjoy, Rudy